phighting angst

PHIGHT!

im so fucking bad at writing istfg

im not rereading last chapter for a recap X3

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Rocket was surprised with himself, he actually had gotten in about an hour and a half of sleep. Hopefully though, it was enough to get himself through a phight scheduled for today. He was absolutely dreading it, since Zuka would have to be the one driving there. And what if he got questioned why Skateboard and Boombox weren't with him?! What if his dad found out he had gotten kicked out of his apartment?? He wasn't going to enjoy this. Lugging himself out of bed, the blue horned phighter brushed his teeth and hair, and did his best to make himself look the least presentable he could. It wasn't much, but he had nothing driving him to do any better. He looked at himself in the mirror and shrugged, it's not like anything could get any worse.

As Rocket got closer to Zuka's truck, the more rapid his heart beat. Sounding like Boombox's rhythmic beat pounding in his ears. He didn't even know why he was so stressed, it was just his dad, right? "Kid? Ey, kid? Ya' in there, Rocket?" He didn't even notice he was right in front of Zuka, panting and panicking as his dad stood there concerned. "What? Oh, uh, yeah," Rocket cleared his throat. "Sorry, Dad," Rocket flinched as he felt Zuka's hand on his shoulder. He recoiled his sharky looking tail, curling it around his leg. The truck driver already knew, something was wrong with his son. "Something up with ya'? Ya' don't seem very well, kid," He rubbed his son's shoulder, still slightly worried. He could see the eye bags under his eyes prominently, and how messy Rocket was hadn't been normal for the kid.

"I'm good, Zuka." Rocket slid his dad's hand off his shoulder, chuckling softly and giving the truck driver a weak smile. "Right..." He said, unconvinced. "Where's your buddies? Uh, the red and green ones." The monochrome demon wiped his hand off on his jacket, somewhat offended that Rocket had just, swept his hand away. "They, uhm. They said they'll meet me at the phight. Yeah. Plus, they're on the opposite team anyway." The blue phighter felt the tension between him and his dad rise. He shivered. The old soldier hated having deep conversations. It's true, he was never really known for having sympathy nowadays. But this was his child, whom he cared for.

"Look, Rocket. I'm not gonna sugarcoat this any longer." The former phighter stuffed his hand into his pocket. "You already know I don't like you going to phights, but this is concerning me." The blue demon looked afraid, frightened even. "If something is seriously wrong, I don't want you going." Zuka lashed his tail back and forth, fighting like this wasn't good for Rocket. He'd be the one to know that. "D-Dad please-" Rocket stuttered and whimpered, practically afraid for his life. "Don't even, Rocket. Tell me what's wrong." Sure, the way Zuka was doing this was a bit harsh, but this was the best way he could do it. The only way he knew how. "Y-You're gonna get mad at me, Dad-" He hesitated, trying to at least brace himself and Zuka. "I'm not going to get mad. You're my kid, for gods' sake."

"O-Okay, okay, I got kicked out of my apartment! Happy?" Rocket clenched his shirt, knees quivering as he was scared for what the grey shark might say. The most likely answer was anger, or frustration.

"Rocket..." Zuka mumbled, kneeling down to wrap his arm around his son. "I'm so sorry about that." He was... a bit stunned, that Zuka actually showed a bit of pity, and even felt bad. "I-I- uhm..." He wasn't even sure how to react. 

"Hold on, kicked out? By who? The one who owns the building?" Rocket shook his head, opening his mouth to answer but was cut off. "Who, then?! Don't tell me it was Boombox and Skateboard..." His voice had a slight undertone of agitation towards the two playgrounders. At this point, he should've guessed. If a faction was to go against one such as Blackrock, there was no way it was any better. Zuka clenched his jaw.

 Rocket didn't even have to say anything, as Zuka pulled away and grabbed his phone out his truck. "Wait-! Dad don't!-" Rocket stopped him from dialing Boombox's number, pulling away Zuka's phone and shutting it down, handing it back.